The Pink Fairies

Do It!

Total Energy

I remember years ago, reading the song credits inside of the Rollins Band’s Turned On album, and next to the song “Do It!” was credit to the Pink Fairies. I thought, “who the hell are the Pink Fairies?” Now, close to ten years later, I finally got to find out. The Pink Fairies were four hippies who just caught the end of “flower power” at the end of its era. In 1969, bands like Led Zeppelin, among others, marked the dawn of a new era, where music was sold at high ticket prices and played in stadiums. The Pink Fairies couldn’t conceive charging their fans to see them play, and wouldn’t do shows unless they were free or benefit shows.

Over the next two years, the Pink Fairies played everything from underground press benefits to Gay Pride rallies. Their music proved to be a mixture of the “hippie” ethics they held and the “arena rock” they despised. They played rock, but they had ideals that kept them from separating the audience from the band, focusing on more on interaction, rather than the “rock star” to “lowly fan.”

Do It! is a collection of rare and unreleased material that still stands above a guy in leather pants shaking his ass while singing about magic and wizards or “gettin’ some” while playing ripped-off Robert Johnson licks. The music is psychedelic without the naiveté of thinking that they could change the world with a few rock songs. They played rock and roll without all the “rock-star” bullshit. About half of the songs are instrumental jams, and the other songs show the early signs of punk and metal. If you’re a fan of punk, metal, rock.. whatever, pick this up and see it in its more pure form.

They don’t come more seminal than Mitch Easter, who has influenced music from both sides of the mixing board, with his band Let’s Active and as the producer for acts like REM, Pavement and Marshall Crenshaw. Rob Levy grabs a few moments with the busy man.

Da-duh. Da-duh. Da, da, da, da, da-duh. This summer’s first all-star comedy has it all — from the theme song to the obligatory broomstick. But our resident bumbling husband to a brainy, enchanting beauty isn’t quite sold on Nora Ephron’s latest concoction. In his review, Steve Stav attempts to explain his vague dissatisfaction with Bewitched.